The Australian | 13 June 2014
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It has been confirmed at Senate Estimates that chief higher education regulator Carol Nicoll has taken indefinite leave and her future is tied to legislation that would restructure the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
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A Bill introduced in late February by education minister Christopher Pyne would spill the positions of TEQSA’s five commissioners, splitting the roles of chief commissioner and chief executive both of which are currently vested in the person of Dr Nicoll. It would also strip away the agency’s broader role in quality assessment.
The Bill follows a review of how TEQSA operates against the backdrop of discontent in the sector.
In the Senate last week, higher education official Robert Griew said he had approved Dr Nicoll’s leave in early March, on full-pay and for an indefinite term, after “a conversation” with her. He told the committee that:
In the hypothetical situation that the (TEQSA reform) legislation did not pass, then Dr Nicoll and I have already agreed we would then have a further conversation.
A report on the TEQSA Bill is due on 20 June following an inquiry by the Senate’s Education and Employment Legislation Committee.
See
TEQSA leaders on gardening leave?
TEQSA shake up
